As a fan of anime and vampire lore, I was particularly pleased with this short novel. Created by the late Japanese writer Sunao Yoshida, the Trinity Blood series targets the young adult market and has spawned an international manga and anime franchise. Translated into English for the first time, the novel is wholly engrossing and highly entertaining. Yoshida created a bleak, post-Apocalyptic world populated by humans and vampires who are locked in an eternal struggle for power.
Volume I: From the Empire is a collection of four stories that introduce the reader to this futuristic, gothic new world. The novel opens up with a table of contents featuring the cast of characters and in the back is a map of the post-Apocalyptic world of Trinity Blood. The common thread between the stories is the presence of the Vatican; in this new world, the Vatican is the key military force against the New Human Empire. The Vatican controls and employs AX Agents -ruthless and talented mercenary priests who assassinate vampires and help the human race gain footing in their never-ending war. But these AX agents hold their own secrets -one is a vampire that preys on other vampires and another agent is not even human.
The AX Agents are sent on various assignments to defeat the vampires and each story revolves around their missions. "Flight Night" is tale introducing us to AX Agent Abel Nightroad (codename: Crusnik); "Witch Hunt" is a mission shared by AX Agent Crusnik and AX Agent Tres Iqus (codename: Gunslinger); and "Sword Dancer" is about AX Agent Hugue de Watteu (codename: Sword Dancer).
"From the Empire" is a vivid and thrilling story in which AX Agent Abel Nightroad teams up with Duchess Odessa --an agent from the New Human Empire. Their mission is to catch the Count of Zagrev, a killer vampire on the loose in Venice, Italy. Beautiful, lethal, and wonderfully skilled, the Duchess of Odessa is allowed a special dispensation to work with the Vatican in order to arrest the Count who is on an unauthorized killing spree. Partnered with the silent, bumbling Nightroad, she at first loathes working with a Terran. However, the two learn to trust one another as they fight the vampire killer --which makes for an interesting dynamic. With this story, we learn about the background of AX Agent Abel Nightroad as well as learn about the New Human Empire -the only vampire-controlled nation on the planet.
Yoshida's novels, rife with exciting fight scenes, are peppered with artwork by Thores Shibamoto. It was only a matter of time before the novels were turned into an anime series that are even more engrossing than the books themselves.
Yoshida's novels, rife with exciting fight scenes, are peppered with artwork by Thores Shibamoto. It was only a matter of time before the novels were turned into an anime series that are even more engrossing than the books themselves.
